Divided We Stand (A Packs Roleplay, OPEN and ACCEPTING)

[Nellas]

((Holy cow Mirage she is??? so beautiful?????? wow wow wo w I love her

I should be studying too.... but that hasn't been happening))

[The Royal Mirage]

((My chem exam is tomorrow, so I've been cramming for a few hours so far. But I can't help coming back here every half unit or so and checking to see if there are replies XD And yess, thank you so much - I had a clear idea of what I wanted her to look like, it just took a loooong time to get it right lol. I appreciate the love <33))

[Nellas]

((yooo I feel you, I have an essay and a lab report due tonight and I'm being completely honest when I say the thing keeping me motivated to stay on top of it is I might have time to write replies later hahaha))

[The Royal Mirage]

Wincing in reply, Maia knew she deserved the sting that accompanied Kirsten's response. It had been insensitive to bring up home, she should have been more considerate, yet what hurt the most was the dissonance between this Kirsten and the one she had known not so very long ago. Their paths hadn't crossed quite so often, yet they had lived together in peace for a long while, long enough, anyway, for the quicksilver fae to know what her raven companion was like. The Kirsten of the past was gone, swallowed whole by a shadow of circumstance that, by the worn fae's opinion, was at least in part her fault. Maia felt her throat grow tight, lips quivering as she pinned the blame solely on herself now - why had she just left with Lilith? Why hadn't she insisted that her sister talk out her problems with Cray, instead of following blindly as always, just trying not to make waves? Pathetic, spineless, deplorable.

Steeling herself, Maia's steps faltered as she cleared her throat and blinked away the moisture that had begun to accumulate in her eyes. She had no right to feel sorry for herself right now. "There is another pack here," she answered stiffly, trying to concentrate on being of use and begging her voice not to waver as her mind shifted to the new subject. "It's a little ways off still, but our healer is very skilled. I know she'll be able to help..." Yet as long as Maia was there, she would be a reminder of Kirsten's troubles, wouldn't she? She didn't want to cause any more problems than she already had, but she needed to lead Kirsten at least until Tanga could take care of her. "Once we get there, I'll let her know what's happened. I'll stay out of your way after that, so please, forgive my presence a little while longer." Turquoise orbs finally met leafy greens again, desperately apologetic, yet with the sense that they wouldn't dare to ask for forgiveness.

((One so far, might add in Lilith in a bit I should go to bed, but I'll stay up a bit longer and read through more of the thread to see where the rest of my characters are - I didn't get nearly as much studying done today as I'd hoped, I'm going to be doing a ton of cramming tomorrow before the exam. Luckily there are a bunch of practice quizzes online, so I can speed through it))

So Sparrow didn't recognize it. Lilith nodded in response, flashes of afternoon sun catching at silver flecks over her cheekbones. Somehow her features seemed so soft without their ivory shield, ears flicking with the gentleness of gossamer as the humming of a dragonfly briefly snagged her attention. The otherworldly silence hung heavily around them, each little whisper of wind or the scratching scurry of creatures that had reclaimed this land punctuating the stillness. She wanted to go further along this indiscernible path, to see beyond their surroundings, to indulge in a world other than her own. Would it be so wrong for an outsider like herself to see the birthplace of the land she called home, at least for now? Tips of grass wavered in the breeze, brushing her sides, insisting that this place beyond imagination was real, real and ripe for discovery once again.

To drown in this sea of gold, did she even deserve it?

At Sparrow's sudden reminder of the rest of the pack, a wave of emotion crashed suddenly against her, Lilith staggering as it threatened to swallow her whole. She'd done it again, she realized; run away from her problems. Again she recklessly left behind those she cared about. Dark lips twisted into a grimace in an attempt to hold back the sob that threatened to break from her maw, thinking of Tanga, of Maia, Kirsten, even further back, to another group she had abandoned when things became too much to bear. It would be too convenient to believe she was doomed to never settle, to wander with the wind until her heart ceased to beat and bones turned to dust. No, to believe in that kind of destiny would be to relinquish responsibility. And taking responsibility was the only way to stop from tearing her heart in two again. Snapping her ocean gaze to Sparrow's, orbs swimming in the salt of unshed tears, Lilith couldn't help one last moment of selfishness.

"Sparrow, I miss them."

[-goldleaf-]

((just one post for now, but I've been getting a little restless about writing, so there may be more to come soon. Nothing is gonna be my best work obviously, but I'm missing it here))

Dark ears drew forward neatly as Kirsten fought the breeze for Maia's voice to be heard, only to draw back again carefully when Maia's eyes met her own several moments later. The fae before her had never been anything more than an aquaintance really, for that's how Kirsten treated nearly everyone she knew, when it really got down to it. She had grown very skilled at keeping others just as distanced from her as she chose.

At present she felt the old strings of a life left behind tugging at her faintly, echoes of etiquette that she had been running from for so long. Her chin lifted a touch, not ready yet to let the joining of their gazes pass without the little display of a challenge that's sole purpose was to still keep them as equals in the moment. Maia might be an alpha now, and on this land, but Kirsten was done having others be her higher-ups. She wanted equal footing.

Bright eyes narrowed a touch as she glanced around them, "I'm only passing through." her paws throbbed in a cry for anything but a passing through of this land. "You don't need to tip toe around me," she added in a flat voice, a dark brow arching. "Don't let my presence change anything."

(((also Mirage, Donna is beautiful! Absolutely stunning when I first saw her, I can't stop staring at her. You really outdid yourself this time)))

[-goldleaf-]

Dark lips, so prone to warming into smiles, and so sensitive in their regard to cause pleasure whenever they could, wrote themselves into a tight little snarl. Honey and copper fur swirled in a sudden wind devil, dancing madly around Roans hot-headed figure. Turning up his own devilish eyes in an uncharacteristically churlish glare that was cast up the hill that led to the camp. He was made for heat. For hot sun and the wild air it brought to the body and mind. That's where he thrived. But instead another nipping gust flirted its touch through his ruff, cold fingers running down his taut shoulder, chased away by a violent shiver that had enough course to make his dash a paw roughly through the frosted grass in front of him. He was ornery with his situation, as he was not often made to be. Instead of being able to run up the hill and into one warm den or anther with ease, he was trapped in a nipping cage of his own creation. Roan was stuck in a muscle spasm, torn up shoulder radiating with the pain of it and drawing his paws to a quick stop on his previous journey back up to the med den. Amber eyes were ablaze as he thrashed his tail and forced another step, feeling the tightening of a mad yelp rise in the back of his throat as he growled to keep it down.

Trembling paws scratched a faint beat against chilled sand as Roan limped uphill. By the time he reached the med den there was a little smile across his lips once again, though it held hardly any gentleness. Instead he tripped his way into the den with shoulders taut and shaking from his strain, smile mocking his own situation. Inner-lit eyes glanced around the den, not really looking for anyone or anything specifically, though he let his weight tip him forward into slow steps towards the last little bed that he had occupied here; the only place he knew that he could stay without worry. Or rather, without too much worry. Honey streaked fur glinted and winked as he fell into bed quietly, sitting up on his elbows with a little groan that he couldn't quite suppress. He closed his eyes, breathing quietly as he fought to relax his still-shaking muscles.

((little post is little))

[The Royal Mirage]

A pang shot resolute through her chest as Maia watched Kirsten brush off her words, hurt, but having known it was the sort of answer she was likely to get. Aqua eyes shifted forward again, nodding her long, slender muzzle in reply and focusing on the path ahead of them. "Of course." Still, there was no way Kirsten's request could be fulfilled - already her presence had more than changed the harmonious balance the pack had fallen into, and shaken the alphess thoroughly. But she would try not to show it, if only to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

Turning to gauge the angle of the sun against the slope of the inclining path they now followed, the platinum fae didn't think their chances of making it back to camp before dark were too bad. Though, travelling at a slower pace than they'd been earlier that day, there was no telling really.

Breath now escaping in even puffs, the threat of tears lain to rest along with the tiny dove, Tanga slept soundly curled against Amara's side in the medicine den. Copper freckles catching in the light that briefly intruded into the cozy hollow with Roan's arrival were the only reply to the new presence, such was how heavy and peaceful her sleep had become. The fear of having almost lost her dear friend abated with every push of warmth felt from the stony omega's own even breathing, the motion soothing in its consistency.

((also short, still reading over the thread to see where the rest of my characters are at *pretty sure this was where I left Tanga though*. And goldie thank you soo so much, even I couldn't stop staring at her for a while lol. It's tempting to want to go back and give Gem the kind of dappled freckles that she's got, but they were hard enough to pull off just once!
Also, I think my exam went well, so I'm going to give myself some time off before I have to start studying again - more human art and forms, and maybe catching up on more old replies ^^))

[-goldleaf-]

((Amara and Tanga curled up together is so unbelievably cute in my head))

Kirsten let out a soft snort, delayed by her own mental sluggishness as she let instinct seep back into auto control of her motions. She simply couldn't think. Though Maia's last words bounced around once, twice, in her foggy head. Kirsten was known for just passing through. Maybe she always would be.

Midnight paws picked up a bit, natural endless gate being one that she could tweak to be faster even now as she picked up on her new chauffeurs checking of the sun. What were they doing out here the star from their camp? Surely it wasn't as close as Maia was hoping now that she had picked up a wild rogue. Maybe they had been hunting out here. Kirstens shoulders ached as she thrashed her tail subtly, the thought of a hunt bringing back the image of Lilith again. Cray had always been impressed by these faes and their hunting, telling her stories of hunts with that dove and how different a world it was that they had all shown to the naive mountain-raised brute.

Emerald eyes didn't wander back to the dove beside her, but her tired paws lifted in a faster rhythm, pushing them a bit faster at an effort mostly to take her mind off the musing thoughts that kept echoing through her wild mind. She hadn't thought about what would happen once they got to the camp, but it was the first time in a while that she had an actual destination to go to.

((we can bump them if you want Mirage, Kirsten is pretty quiet right now so I don't know that a lot of conversation will happen for our next posts if we continue them all the way to the camp. But whatever you like is fine for me, its fun to write for her again.
Her spots are amazing Mirage, really they are. Thats almost exactly what I envisioned for Fen and Devin to have for their dappled coats, they're just very difficult to capture, as you've discovered hahaha))

[The Royal Mirage]

((tell me about it lol - can't wait for the human au with all the cute girls in a massive cuddle pile. Also yeah, time skip is a good idea, since the shores are pretty much into evening now, don't think it'll disturb too much to jump forward a bit in the mountains too))

The sun hung heavy in the sprawling sky as the faes skirted the towering mountain camp, the rocky ridges still glimmering faintly from the raging storm that had passed over them. So much had occurred since Maia and her party left that morning, it had taken trekking up past the wreckage of the monsoon to remind her exactly why they had traveled so far south in the first place. The rain had made the path slick and muddled, and the stream they crossed now swelled to rushing rapids. Would it return to normal in two days though, that was the question. Even coming back up the weather seemed dry, but there was no guarantee it would stay that way.

Maia puzzled to herself whether it would be best to take the pack down early; with Nutmeg's condition, the injured loner in the medicine den, and now Kirsten, along with Lilith and Sparrow's absence... there were arguments to leave early, but also to stay put. If they left early, Nutmeg wouldn't have to be so rushed in the unpleasant terrain, and they would likely meet up with Lilith and Sparrow sooner. They could hunt in the south before the rest of the packs arrived and make a good impression; plus, Maia figured Tanga would be restless if they waited too long. But at the same time, one more day of rest may not be enough for Roan and Kirsten to properly heal, and while Tanga was young and dependent, she always put others before herself.

With a sigh, the platinum dove set a muted paw against the familiar trail through camp to the medicine den, glancing back at Kirsten's faded form. Despite the pack's size, camp seemed so empty today, likely because of the excited state of the whistling wind - a barren land, by all appearances. "The medicine den is just in here," she reassured as they came upon the unsuspecting entrance, lifting a heavy pelt away from the opening.

((I was thinking that I might make freckles a characteristic of the ancestral alphas, since both my alphas in the forest and shores have them, but then we've got strangers like Tanga who have them as well, and I don't know if you'd want that kind of lore behind Devin and Fen - it's still fun to think on though ^^ Also, turns out I'm gonna be busy today with social stuff, but I just had to get a little something in before then <3))

[-goldleaf-]

((cute piles of girls are great But about the freckles - I have all kinds of ideas for ancestral lines and symbolism and things for my characters all the time, which is obviously just all for self indulgent purposes haha but I love the idea of the freckles being a canon thing for your characters and in this Rp, I don't mind at all if it reflects back onto my characters here as well. Kind of a collab, no? ))

The gentle buzz of laughter and talking, of fun not yet bloomed into real swing, caressed Sham's ears. A soft scratch of his own nails across the cobbles bounced ahead of him in the alley, and his gold-ringed eyes dropped from peeking through the rooftops. It was going to be a beautiful night, and he was guessing at a few of the younger pack members trying their paw at the low tide later in the evening.
He had returned home shortly before the party, it ensured that he could drive at just the right moment to be able to watch all the peacocks dance their way around to socialize. He had taken the time to comb a wet brush through his ruff and across his face, slicking back his pearlescently colored fur in clean, dark tracks from the bristles. His face was free of the red paint he so often wore, instead bringing his darkly gilded features out to play, and hiding less of his true expressions. Gold adornments, his usual for social events, glinted warmly from his ear and foreleg alike.
With a soft raise of his brows he drew up to the end of the alley, resting his shoulder gently to the woven thatch of a stand next to him. He had followed his nose all the way to the real reason he had attended the festivities, and it was hard to keep his eyes from enjoying the view of all of the food that had been specially made for the party. Sham had long enjoyed the way this pack took such care for their food, though he himself had never been able to grasp at cooking.

((I completely forgot everything about Sham until I went back and started rereading. I literally think I have amnesia))